Chrysler Crossfire takes a year off
With so many 2005 Crossfires sitting on dealer lots across the U.S. that Chrysler resorted to discounting the car on Overstock.com during the Christmas season, the company has no plans for a 2006 model in the U.S.
But it's not all doom and gloom for Chrysler's RWD sports car. There is a 2006 model - you just can't get it in the U.S. Chrysler customers in Europe are able to buy the 2006 Crossfire, which adds a Special Edition option package (pictured) to the 2005 model lineup. The Crossfire is built in Germany by DaimlerChrysler partner Karmann.
U.S. Crossfire fans will be happy to know a 2007 model is in the works for the U.S. market.
[Sources: Autoweek, Chrysler]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jason 5:38PM (5/08/2006)
Crossfire fans? Who are they? Has Crysler made any money at all on producing this thing?
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RamSport47 5:50PM (5/08/2006)
"Crossfire fans? Who are they? Has Crysler made any money at all on producing this thing?"
Probably, since it uses 1st gen Mercedes SLK Roadster chassis and powertrain...sheetmetal is cheap to produce...relatively
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Richard Warren 6:13PM (5/08/2006)
Pricing changes and a slight stretch could make this car work.
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Jason 6:16PM (5/08/2006)
Sure, but I understand they can barely sell them, and discounted at that.
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biopsea 6:17PM (5/08/2006)
not sure why these cars sit. while not my style (im 6'3"), they represent tremendous value. just saw an srt-6 on ebay for 28,000 with 2k miles on it. 330hp, mercedes powertrain and architecture. this car new was mid 45k. i chalk it up to snob appeal. why drive a chrysler when you can get into a z4 or boxter for 10% more (msrp's).
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Chris J 6:35PM (5/08/2006)
The Crossfire has 2 major problems
1) Interior Materials - Are really, really, cheap, like lego plastic cheap, it reminds me (not aesthetically - but same problem) of the 2006 and before Chevy SUV's, with outdated and poor interior quality/materials
2) Engine - They should have gave it a beefier engine on the base, and a even bigger engine on the SRT 6
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martin 6:38PM (5/08/2006)
number 5, i wouldnt put this cars failure to sell down to snobbery at all, but down to them being, for want of a better word, shit, much like the old SLK they're derived from.
The only thing good about the old merc was the engine on the amg variant, and that drove like a pig negotiating a slalom course on castors. The salutory lesson of cars like this that none of their buyers fail to learn is that cheap doesnt necessarily mean good value!
Given the abundance of vastly superior competitors, (boxter, z4, mustang, 350z, rx-8, elise, alfa brera, etcetcetc its not the most suprising thing that a saggy bowl of blamange (sp?) like this isnt selling . . . survival of the fittest my boy, survival of the fittest
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martin 6:39PM (5/08/2006)
oh yeah, and what chrisj said!
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felonious monk 6:48PM (5/08/2006)
"not sure why these cars sit."
It's got looks only its mother could marginally love. Simple enough.
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K Smith 6:50PM (5/08/2006)
Found this one one Carmax...
2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 2D Coupe
Stock Number: 2503751
Exterior Color: SapphireSilverBlue
Interior Color: Dk Slate Gray Leather
Model Code: ZHCX29
Current Store: Orlando CJD
in Orlando
National Base Price: $34,369
Destination Charges, Dealer Prep: $0
Processing Fee: $149
Florida Final No-Haggle Price: $34,518*
MSRP: $47,080
Factory Invoice: $0
Savings From MSRP: $12,562
(No, I don't work for Carmax...)
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John 7:01PM (5/08/2006)
This car is so ugly, It targets the same nonexisting audience like the Chevrolet SSR did.
That audience is people with no aesthetic taste. Perhaps these potential buyers are engineers who concentrate on function, not form. Oh yes but, the Crossfire has no function either; it's an old SLK, with no handling, no rigidity, and minimal space.
#5 biopsea, this car is not your style, nor anybody else's. Remember you could get a Firebird or Camaro for $23,000 with 320 hp. There is no value in this car.
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psych101 7:34PM (5/08/2006)
I happen to like the looks. When I first saw the coupe's interior and saw that it was based on the SLK ergo light luxo-cruiser, I immediately thought that it would be around $28,000 fully loaded. But it based at $29,515, and very quickly shot up to $37,000 with even minimal options. The Crossfire was overpriced from the beginning. I don't know how else to put it. As an American looking at what should be a domestic product, I expect a lower price than any European equivalent. For me, that's the primary appeal of domestics: same car for less money because import fees and tariffs don't get passed on to me. Turns out this is an import. I would gladly get one, but it is just too expensive. Even used Crossfires are too expensive. I'm sorry, it's a nice car, with the best parts of classic American styling IMO, but it costs too much!
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psych101 7:37PM (5/08/2006)
And, yeah, like John said: I thought this was Chrysler's answer to the Firebird, Camaro, and Mustang. I think a lot of people thought the same thing.
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biopsea 7:43PM (5/08/2006)
out of curiosity, how many of you haters have driven this car (srt-6 specifically)? this car wasnt meant to be practical - buy a minivan if you needs mandate it.
chrysler has itself a nice deal, inheriting year old mercedes technology. sure has worked well with the lx platform.
go drive a 300c srt-8 and tell me that utilizing "old" mercedes technology isn't gonna save Chrysler. Of the big 3 (or 2.5), they are leading the charge in the right direction.
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biopsea 8:04PM (5/08/2006)
i agree with #12 - they priced it too high intially.
#7/#11, how can you say it doesnt perform? lets match an '05 srt-6 up against THIS years M3 (arguably evry car manufacturers target). the chysler outbrakes it from 60, outperforms it on the skidpad, has a higher top speed, and outruns it in the 1/4 mile. of the quantitative factors, the M3 surpasses this "saggy bowl of blamange" only in the sprint to 60 (by a whole .1 of a second).
#13 - i am refraining from posting a reponse to your statement
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Boombastic 9:08PM (5/08/2006)
The Crossfire was priced too high. Ppl lookin for cars in that price range had better looking options.
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B.Jeffers 9:12PM (5/08/2006)
I drove 2005 when it first came out. The sales guy warned me up front that there were blind spots ... so be very careful. My wife and I both loved the handling and the relative power but could not handle the very significant blind spots. We bought a 200s 300C instead for about the same money. Maybe our next car will be a Crossfire if they take care of the safety issue of visibility.
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Steve S 9:14PM (5/08/2006)
I must be one of the few people who think ths car looks pretty good. The interior plastics do look like crap though.
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gbh 10:02PM (5/08/2006)
You're not the only one Steve. Personally, I like the (exterior)look - no, it's not the 'Atlantic' show car, and hardly deserving of genuine 'Atlantique-esque' - I like that look. But that's just me.
I do agree it was killed by what kills most cars, bad price/value. The interior design/materials were typical domestic dreck. Sure, it's primarily a 'style' car, but c'mon, how bout at least 370 HP on the SRT? A Frickin' Acura gets ~300HP out of 3.2L of NA V6, with a much better slushbox, why DCX, why? And some brakes please?
If someone can get a lightly used M3 for the money of a Crossfire, where do you think they're gonna write that check?
I'll pick one up in a next few years when they depreciate close enough to free for my taste. Recover the interior with decent grade materials. Stuff a real Benz V8-and-Twin-Screw lump under the hood, Brembos and some suspension recalibrations...
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Ed 11:01PM (5/08/2006)
I'm being serious here - the reason this car isn't selling is because you can't fit in the goddamn thing if you're over 6 feet tall.
I was in LOVE with this car from the moment they released it. It's not a style for everyone, I admit. But it's a really attractive car to me. When I finally went and test drove one (well, never actually got to driving it) I had to crane my neck 45 degrees to the side just to sit in the driver's seat (I'm 6'4" and not the slightest bit overweight). I was just appalled. It was like a clown car.
And the worst part was that the salesman kept giving me his pitch. I was like "Can you not see that i can't sit upright in this damn thing?"
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